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Transitioning to eSim-only could enslave us even further, as if Windows 11 secure boot shenanigans were not enough. Please raise this with your favorite digital

Transitioning to eSim-only could enslave us even further, as if Windows 11 secure boot shenanigans were not enough. Please raise this with your favorite digital freedom advocate. Let's be proactive on this one.

sofixa 2y ago
> Transitioning to eSim-only could enslave us even further, as if Windows 11 secure boot shenanigans were not enough How are eSIMs "enslaving" people? Or for that matter, Windows 11 secure boot? There's plenty to complain about in Windows 11 from a privacy perspective, but secure boot is your problem?
- RicoElectrico 2y ago
  Even media created with MS's own USB imager didn't work with my DIY build. May be related to Asus' UEFI but there's no proper diagnostic facility to know. I said screw it, and used Rufus to bypass any MS nonsense at the same time. And how? The same way SIM locks did. EU made them illegal not without reason.
  - sofixa 2y ago
    > And how? The same way SIM locks did. EU made them illegal not without reason. SIM locks were for operators to lock phones they sell you only to their network. You can install any eSIM, including from random MVNOs all around the world.
lxgr 2y ago
Yeah, I really hate not having to physically juggle small smartcards whenever I want to use another network/provider (my phone has several eSIM profiles installed right now), being able to choose from dozens of providers competing on price and functionality, and not having to stand in line at the SIM store first thing after a long-haul flight too. eSIMs could have been an anti-consumer nightmare, but fortunately they were really done exactly right. I really sometimes find it hard to believe how lucky we got on that one; they could have easily been a carrier lock-in mechanism like ESN/MEID based provisioning was. > Let's be proactive on this one. Even if you had a point, you're years too late. iPhones are sold without a SIM slot in some countries already (and I love it).
- sureIy 2y ago
  > eSIMs _could_ have been an anti-consumer nightmare Really? Because I can swap a SIM card between phones in 30 seconds whereas swapping eSIM lies between "hoping it works" and "not possible", passing by "you'll need a document" or "visit the store, if it's anywhere in your city/country"
  - lxgr 2y ago
    I can swap my eSIM between phones faster than I can remove my phone case.
    - stavros 2y ago
      There's a difference between "my specific thing works" and "all such things work". Not all eSIMs are transferable.
      - lxgr 2y ago
        Yes, but that's a problem of bad network operators, not the eSIM standard. Operators could also release physical SIMs that get tied to a given phone's IMEI after first insertion if they really wanted to.
        sureIy 2y ago
        Yes, but that's a problem of bad people, not guns. Either way, the end result is that I have to identify myself at a store to move some eSIMs and many are simply not transferable (particularly from Airalo)
        lxgr 2y ago
        Airalo SIMs wouldn't even exist without eSIM, so arguably that's still a consumer win, not a loss, even though I obviously also wish they were transferable.
- SXX 2y ago

sofixa 2y ago

> Transitioning to eSim-only could enslave us even further, as if Windows 11 secure boot shenanigans were not enough How are eSIMs "enslaving" people? Or for that matter, Windows 11 secure boot? There's plenty to complain about in Windows 11 from a privacy perspective, but secure boot is your problem?

RicoElectrico 2y ago
Even media created with MS's own USB imager didn't work with my DIY build. May be related to Asus' UEFI but there's no proper diagnostic facility to know. I said screw it, and used Rufus to bypass any MS nonsense at the same time. And how? The same way SIM locks did. EU made them illegal not without reason.
- sofixa 2y ago
  > And how? The same way SIM locks did. EU made them illegal not without reason. SIM locks were for operators to lock phones they sell you only to their network. You can install any eSIM, including from random MVNOs all around the world.

lxgr 2y ago

Yeah, I really hate not having to physically juggle small smartcards whenever I want to use another network/provider (my phone has several eSIM profiles installed right now), being able to choose from dozens of providers competing on price and functionality, and not having to stand in line at the SIM store first thing after a long-haul flight too. eSIMs could have been an anti-consumer nightmare, but fortunately they were really done exactly right. I really sometimes find it hard to believe how lucky we got on that one; they could have easily been a carrier lock-in mechanism like ESN/MEID based provisioning was. > Let's be proactive on this one. Even if you had a point, you're years too late. iPhones are sold without a SIM slot in some countries already (and I love it).

sureIy 2y ago
> eSIMs _could_ have been an anti-consumer nightmare Really? Because I can swap a SIM card between phones in 30 seconds whereas swapping eSIM lies between "hoping it works" and "not possible", passing by "you'll need a document" or "visit the store, if it's anywhere in your city/country"
- lxgr 2y ago
  I can swap my eSIM between phones faster than I can remove my phone case.
  - stavros 2y ago
    There's a difference between "my specific thing works" and "all such things work". Not all eSIMs are transferable.
    - lxgr 2y ago
      Yes, but that's a problem of bad network operators, not the eSIM standard. Operators could also release physical SIMs that get tied to a given phone's IMEI after first insertion if they really wanted to.
      - sureIy 2y ago
        Yes, but that's a problem of bad people, not guns. Either way, the end result is that I have to identify myself at a store to move some eSIMs and many are simply not transferable (particularly from Airalo)
        lxgr 2y ago
        Airalo SIMs wouldn't even exist without eSIM, so arguably that's still a consumer win, not a loss, even though I obviously also wish they were transferable.
SXX 2y ago